freddy333

I have seen at least 3 different bezel assemblies on Sub reps, but if your rep bezel is made like the gen, there should be a slightly bent, flat metal spring that fits between the bottom of the bezel & top of the case. The slight bend of the spring puts upward tension on the bezel to keep it locked onto the crystal retaining ring. If the spring is too flat, there is insufficient tension & the bezel will be loose (the opposite can also be true, so be careful not too bend it too much).

panerai153 - You have defined a typical Rolex owner. The average Rolex owner will often sell his watch before paying the high prices for genuine parts/service, while the collector will often sell his 1st born child to pay for a vintage crown or insert. This joke was originally aimed at BMW owners, but I think it is more apropos to vintage Rolex owners - A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW. "Officer, look what they've done to my Beeeemer!!!", he whined. "You lawyers are so materialistic, you make me sick!!!" retorted the officer, "You're so worried about your stupid BMW that you didn't even notice your left arm was ripped off!!!" "Oh my gaaad....", replied the lawyer, finally noticing the bloody left shoulder where his arm once was, "Where's my Rolex???!!!!!"

I ended up having to source all of the GMT parts & converted a standard 1036 to 1036gmt. It took more than 2 years to locate all the parts, but I ended up with a mostly NOS movement. So there was a positive side to the whole episode. That definitely tops mine in outrageousness, but, unlike the movement, I am not sure anyone would pay that much for an old caseback, NOS or not. But - altogether now kids - when it comes to vintage Rolex, never say never.

You may remember that the 1036gmt I purchased from ofrei 5 years ago that Bob Fry sold to someone else ended up being sold on ebay for $2,600. 2 years later, another 1036gmt sold for $3,800. I have not seen a bare movement sell since then, so I will keep my eye on this 1. But it would not surprise me if it sold at or above its asking price.

click this (& it does not even have the correct date wheel)

Getting ready for Halloween

For safety sake, I would exchange malleting for patiently working the razor in & around the circumference of the bezel by hand (wearing a glove would not hurt, just in case). Sometimes, it will take 30 minutes of gentle prodding to get the razor to slip in between the bezel & case, but, eventually, it always works. Much safer than having a razor blade explode on you.

Not too sure about what appear to be swirl marks on the sides, but, otherwise, well done.

Having spent a bit of time working on Capitol Hill &, separately, publishing a medical journal, I would not trust Washington to build a paper airplane, let alone operate a health care system. & I say that having been a life-long Democrat. If a system like Britain's National Health could be perfected to: eliminate the long wait times (often resulting in pain, suffering &, yes, premature death); bureaucratic ineptitude getting in between doctors/patients; advance medical research; & be fully funded by way of a VAT-like tax (to replace the current federal/state/local income tax system), I would be all for having someone like Visa run it (with government oversight).

Regardless of the hyperbole of sellers, no rep is ever a 100% accurate copy of a genuine watch. Although gens are somewhat overpriced, it is virtually impossible to make an exact copy of a $10k watch for $300, especially when the rep copy is assembled under less than laboratory grade conditions & without rigorous QC. Each rep has its own set of sins (inaccuracies). The rep made from factory A may get 3 details wrong on the dial & 2 on the bracelet. The same model watch made in factory B may get 2 different details wrong on the dial & a different 1 on the bracelet with an additional mistake on the crown. The point is that each rep has its own set of sins & different people rank different sins differently. That is why I can tell you which rep of 3 samples is the best for me, but it may not necessarily be the best for you. What you need to do is spend some time researching pics & details of the specific gen watch model you are interested in. If it is a current model, make a few trips to dealers & try them on (it does not cost anything to try on watches). Note how the watch feels on your wrist. Note how the metal feels & reflects light. Note how the crown feels when you wind the watch & set the time. Note how the bracelet or strap feels & reacts to your wrist movements. Once you have a good feel for how the real thing looks & feels, then you are in a good position to select the rep that you can be happy with.

Enhanced patination (artificial aging & patina) is definitely more art than science, which is why there is no single book or guide (what works on 1 piece may not work on the next). Also, as others have suggested, correctly in my experience, most artificial aging goes way overboard, ending up with a franken that looks (suspiciously) like a caricature of a old watch. Spend some time reviewing alot of genuinely old watches & compare those to artificially aged reps & I think you will see what I mean.

Grinding (with a Dremel or similar tool) is the preferred way to enlarge the bezel's opening (sanding would take forever).

Forget the hardware store, as fraggle said, you are not likely to find clips that small there. But, while you are out, stop in at any watch repair shop & they will probably give you a couple. Some eyeglass shops may have them as well. Failing all that, you may have to learn how to navigate ofrei or 1 of the other watch parts houses' websites.

Nice, but it would have been much better had cameraman/editor stuck with watches instead of panning around the room & inserting lengthy shaky/still shots of non-horologic bottles, fruit & walls. Is this really what films schools are teaching today, or is it just the result of overindulgent medical marijuana usage?

Only mid-case remains (& that has been modified & aged with 6 years of normal wear), but this began life as a standard MBW

2 beauties, but, if you want gen dials, I think your options are limited to black or silver.

Ideally, a bezel tool is the best way, but you can usually remove it by starting with something thinner than a knife, like a razor blade. Get a paint scraper that uses razor blades & work your way around the circumference of the bezel until you can slide it in all the way around easily. I have had some that take 30 minutes of effort before I was able to get the razor to slide in all the way around. It is very important to work, evenly, all the way around & not concentrate on 1 spot. That may bend the bezel, which will make it more difficult to remove (& may ruin it). Once you get to the point where the razor slides in easily, switch to a thin (non-serrated) knife & repeat the procedure. This is a common problem with DW Daytona bezels when the original aftermarket crystal has been replaced with a gen. Be patient, be careful & it should come off. You will probably have to grind the inner circumference of the other bezel to get it to fit properly (snugly, but not so tight that you have to exert alot of pressure to force it over the crystal).

Although it is in another location, my cable tv box has an (empty) IR input jack on the back, so I put it in there. At least, that way, if I discover that it belongs to something else, I just have to remember that I put in the cable tv box. Thanks everyone for the help.

Got to be something else. My stereo components were made in the 1960s, at least 3 decades before wireless arrived in the audio world.

Thanks, mstang83. That is definitely the item in question, but why would an IR receiver have a stereo plug? That part does not make sense.

The only writing on the wire looks to be from the wire maker, not from whoever made the part. The white circle is cover over a 3M adhesive pad. It could be any of the above, but the only wireless components I have are wireless mice, all of which are accounted for & they all have a much larger transmitter (that contains batteries & a transmit button). Otherwise, I do not have any other wireless equipment running here, which is why this is so strange.

I figured it was something like that, but the stereo gear is at least 25 years old, made long before BlueTooth or any other wireless options were even thought of. So it must have come from something else. But what? And if it is some type of audio streaming transmitter, I might be able to use it. But where is the receiver? Otherwise, I would toss it, but I do not want to find out later that it is needed.